Secret Service Officer Arrested after Passing Out

MIAMI (AP) — In the latest embarrassing spectacle for the Secret Service, one of its officers was found passed out and apparently drunk on a Miami street corner less than 12 hours after President Barack Obama left the city.

Aaron Francis Engler, an officer with the storied agency's uniformed division, was not on duty when he was found unresponsive on a sidewalk near a popular nightlife area in downtown Miami about 7 a.m. Engler was in Miami in a support role for Obama's trip, which included an afternoon campaign rally at the University of Miami and an evening fundraiser. His exact duties during Obama's visit were unclear, but he was not part of the president's personal security detail.

Edwin Donovan, a Secret Service spokesman, said the case will be turned over to the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing by Secret Service employees.

This is the second alcohol-related incident for the agency in the last six months. In April, 13 officers and agents were implicated in a prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia, in advance of Obama's arrival for a South American summit.

After a night of partying in some of Cartagena's bars and clubs, the employees brought women, including prostitutes, back to the Hotel Caribe, where the employees were staying. The event became public after one agent refused to pay a prostitute and the two had an argument in the hotel hallway.

Eight of the Secret Service employees have been forced out of the agency, three were cleared of serious misconduct and at least two employees are fighting to get their jobs back.